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Pacifists often hear the question, “What would you do if someone attacked your family?” To be certain, this is a fair question. Within most humans, Christian or not, is the desire to provide for and protect loved ones. Jesus himself acknowledged the fact that all humans have an innate love for family and friends, but Jesus called his followers to a greater love.
Matthew 5:44-45: But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. So, those who pose the “What would you do if…” question certainly show love for their family, and want to protect them, but what credit is this to them? Even non-Christians love and protect family members. The love that Jesus promoted is a greater love, a love that extends to all humans, even enemies. So, if ever faced with the dreadful task of protecting our family from an attacker, the follower of Jesus must act out of love for all parties involved. His actions must extend this love not only to his family, but to the attacker as well. If a follower of Jesus were to kill an attacker, or physically harm him in any way, how does this show the attacker love? If one were to injure or kill an attacker to prevent injury or death to a loved one, well this would be showing love towards a family member at the expense of an enemy. As Jesus said, even “sinners” do this. Those who pose the “What would you do if…” question view loyalty to, and protection of the family as the main goal to be achieved in the situation. A true follower of Jesus, however, must view things differently. Let us examine another hypothetical situation. Suppose that the government ordered you to worship some man-made idol, or else they would harm or kill your family. What would you do? Most Christians, I believe, would refuse to worship the idol, because their loyalty to God is greater than their loyalty to their family. Certainly any harm done to the family would be devastating, but a Christian’s loyalty to God supersedes everything, and rightfully so. Jesus stated that if we love our families more than him, we cannot be his disciples (Luke 14:26). Furthermore, Jesus stated that if we forsake our family for his sake, we will inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:29). If given the choice between denying my family and denying Jesus, although this is a difficult decision, I already made my choice when I chose to become of follower of Jesus. Please do not misunderstand; I am not claiming that a follower of Jesus should not protect his family. To begin with, I think a true follower of Jesus has already done the best thing that can be done to ensure the safety and protection of his loved ones by entrusting his family to the care and protection of God. To paraphrase 1 Peter 2:23, Christians should entrust their families to him who judges righteously. Secondly, I refuse to regard the situation as one in which I am forced to either deny my family or deny God. Likewise, I refuse to regard the situation as one in which I am forced to show love towards my family, or towards the attacker, but not both. In Romans 12, Paul stated that Christians should not be “overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Christians must have faith in the love which Jesus promoted, the power of this love, and its ability to overcome evil. Showing love and gentleness to the attacker could very well disarm him emotionally. A loving gesture, some kind words, or a concern for the attacker’s welfare could soften his tough exterior and touch his heart. While trying these tactics, I could position myself in between the attacker and my family, potentially putting myself in harms way while providing my family the opportunity to flee. I believe in what Paul wrote, I believe it is possible to overcome evil with good, but we must have faith in the teachings of Jesus no matter how “impractical” they may seem. We must trust that following these teachings will lead us to the desired good. Jesus said that if we had enough faith we could move mountains, a feat which is seemingly impossible. Peacefully resolving an attack on our family might also seem like an impossible task, but if we have faith in the teachings of Jesus we can show love towards our enemies while protecting our families. With faith in Jesus’ teachings, we can overcome evil with good. For a full study of Jesus' teachings concerning the love for and treatment of enemies, please read The New Testament Promotes the Absolute Love of Enemies. Written by Matthew J. Truitt, Harmless As Doves Ministries
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